Cave in Paris: bridge transformed by artist opens for visitors; VIDEO shows what it's like inside

A cave in Paris: artistic installation is open for visits; see what it's like inside The installation "La Caverne du Pont Neuf" (The Cave of the New Bridge), by French street artist and photographer JR, was inaugurated last Monday (15) after 11 days of delay due to strong winds that damaged the piece. Initially scheduled to open on June 6th, the work will be on display until the 28th of this month on the Pont Neuf, one of the most iconic in Paris and the oldest to cross the Seine. Considered the biggest project of his career, the large-scale optical illusion is a tribute to the work "The Pont Neuf Wrapped", by the artist duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which turned 40 in 2025. Images of rugged rocks make up the installation, which is made up of 80 air-filled canvas arches and rises over the river in black and white to cover the 232-meter-long bridge. length. JR, known as the "French Banksy", was also inspired by the quarries in the Paris Basin, from where the stones for the bridge were extracted. Built entirely from Lutetian limestone, also known as the "Stone of Paris", the Pont Neuf, completed in 1607, was the first in the city not to be made of wood. The artist, who normally uses photographic images in his works, sought a striking juxtaposition between the roughness of the raw material and the refined elegance of the French capital, known as the City of Light. Around 400 volunteers spent days gluing more than 2,000 10-meter strips to the floor to bring the project to life. JR, known as the 'French Banksy', creates a 'cave'-shaped installation on the oldest bridge in Paris. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor Architectural landmark turns into art object In September 1985, the duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude covered the same bridge in their work "The Pont Neuf Wrapped", using 41,800 square meters of polyamide fabric in golden sandstone color and 13 kilometers of rope. As with many of the duo's works, it took years of political negotiations and technical planning to turn the project into reality. The repercussion in the French press was a mix of criticism and praise. Some critics considered the project wasteful and inadequate, questioning, from the beginning, the idea of ??covering a bridge of such historical importance. JR, known as the 'French Banksy', creates a 'cave'-shaped installation on the oldest bridge in Paris Michel Euler/AP Despite this, millions of visitors came to observe the installation. Even the most skeptical comments in the French media recognized its impact on the way people viewed the bridge and the city: the normally passive experience of crossing the historic bridge was transformed into an active engagement with the temporary transformation of the structure and its surroundings. Throughout their careers, the duo Christo, who passed away in 2020, and Jeanne-Claude, who died in 2009, transformed many famous places through their large-scale installations. In the summer of 1995, for example, they covered the Reichstag, the German parliament, with silver fabric. In 2005, they installed "The Gates," a series of saffron-colored fabric panels in New York's Central Park. "L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped", in Paris, was completed posthumously in 2021. "I admire the legacy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude and share their idea that the mission of art is to make us think, to question what is familiar to us", declared JR in a press release. After all, he adds, "art is a transformation and a way of renewing the way we see the world around us." READ ALSO: The World Cup for the ultra-rich: R$20 million package for the final, jet between the stadiums and meeting with players Israel and Hezbollah announce renewal of ceasefire, says agency, but Lebanese press reports new attacks Lula is a 'very volatile' person, says Trump 'Symbolic crossing' The interior of "La Caverne du Pont Neuf" can be visited free of charge, 24 hours a day, throughout installation period. The passage provides a unique experience, with sound design designed by Thomas Bangalter, former member of Daft Punk. It is a "symbolic crossing, a step towards the unknown, an inner journey. I designed the crossing of La Caverne as an experience in which plenitude and emptiness coexist in balance", concludes JR. Artist known as 'French Banksy' creates 'cave' on Paris' oldest bridge History of great installations

The extensive size of the installation means that it can be seen from various points of the city, whether walking along the banks of the Seine or sailing along the river. In an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, JR said that the work was "without a doubt, the most challenging thing" he has ever done. The 43-year-old artist is known for his large-scale installations that combine photography and architectural landmarks. In his "Women Are Heroes" project, he pasted huge portraits of women on buildings and rooftops in cities across the world. The "Inside Out Project" is a global JR initiative that invites people to submit portraits, which are then displayed in public spaces. In another optical illusion work, he "torn off" the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza in 2021. Perhaps his most famous work is "Giants, Kikito" from 2017, which featured a gigantic image of a child peering over the border wall between Mexico and the United States. JR has also been quite active in Paris in the past. In 2019, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Louvre Museum's pyramid, he created an optical illusion with strips of paper that appeared to add depth to the iconic structure and make it appear to be emerging from a quarry. Before that, in 2016, he made the museum's famous pyramid appear to have disappeared by covering its glass segments with images of the Louvre Palace, located in front of it.